Anatomy Of Whales

Balaenopteridae the rorquals balaenidae right whales cetotheriidae the pygmy right whale eschrichtiidae the grey whale monodontidae belugas and narwhals physeteridae the sperm whale kogiidae the dwarf and pygmy sperm whale and ziphiidae the beaked whales. The anatomy of a whale.

Pygmy Sperm Whale Noaa Fisheries

The front limbs of a whale are called flippers.

Anatomy of whales. The anatomy of a whale is designed to allow it to easily move through the water. Baleen whales dont have teeth. Comparative anatomy of whales.

Baleen whales are the other suborder of the toothed whale species. As whales began to swim by undulating the whole body other changes in the skeleton allowed their limbs to be used more for steering than for paddling. It makes the baleen strong but still flexible.

Its vertebral column undulates up and down in waves as it moves forward. Whales do the same thing as they swim showing their ancient terrestrial heritage. Whales have very good hearing and they are able to pass sound through the outer ear to the middle ear.

They have rows of plates on the upper part of the jaw that look like the teeth on a comb. The plates are made out of fingernail like material called keratin. The largest creature ever to have lived with a tongue alone that can weigh as much as an elephant the blue whale rules the ocean.

Whales consist of eight extant families. The holes on top of the whales head used for breathing. There are two primary whale suborders that are divided based on their physical.

It has long served as one of the main evidences for evolution due to the fact that it is very concrete and does not require extensive technology. There are two types of whales toothed whales odontoceti and baleen whales mysticeti. Toothed whales do feature teeth and this includes the sperm whale.

Baleen whales dont have teeth instead they have 130 to 180 baleen plates that hang down each side of their upper jaws like a fringy curtain. Whales porpoises and dolphins are marine mammals and like all mammals they require oxygen. It is often amazing to see such a large creature move about with such grace.

Overlapping plates that hang from the sides of a humpback whales upper jaw. Comparative anatomy is the study of the similarities and differences in the anatomy of difference species. The thick insulating layer of fat of most marine mammals.

The blue whale is the largest known animal to have ever lived far bigger than any of the dinosaurs. The physical structures of organisms. Baleen whales have a sieve like structure called baleen that catches huge amounts of tiny krill for nourishment.

Toothed whales are predators that use their teeth to catch squid fish marine mammals etc. On the throat the gray whale has two to seven grooves of excess skin.

Beluga Whale National Maritime Historical Society

Hawaii Wildlife Fund Humpback Whale Behavior And Anatomy